More Turnover of Guildford Shops as Retail Instability Continues

Published on: 3 Oct, 2019
Updated on: 3 Oct, 2019

By Hugh Coakley

New businesses open, and old ones close, at a dizzying rate in Guildford as the instability of the retail sector locally, and nationally, continues.

Here are a few of the moves and changes in  Guildford town centre.

Carmona, a new Spanish restaurant selling tapas and Argentinian steaks, has moved next door to the Zizzi Italian restaurant at the top of upper High Street. The new premises had been occupied by the Cau Restaurant which closed over a year ago. Good to see it trading again.

The new Carmona Spanish restaurant in the upper High Street.

‘Unpackaged’ is a welcome new feature in the Guild Foods Market just opened in Woodbridge Road. Manisha Shah, who works in the shop, said: “It’s going really well so far. People have been asking us to expand the ‘unpackaged’ area to include environmentally safe washing up liquid and so on.”

Guild Foods Market  has just finished a complete refurbishment of the Nisa shop attached to the petrol station on Woodbridge Road. It looks like it has doubled in size by taking over the attached office space next door. Very attractive layout inside with an ‘unpackaged’ section allowing customers to take in their own containers.

Parking could be an issue at the new Guild Foods Market but there is more parking at the side of the shop.

Waterstones is moving across the High Street in November to the premises vacated by Monsoon / Accessorize. The Guildford Dragon NEWS had reported in July that they were having lease discussions with their landlord. There is plenty of choice for shops at the moment, for instance in Tunsgate Quarter, so it looks like Waterstones has decided to walk.

It hasn’t taken long for this prime location spot to be filled by Waterstones after Monsoon / Accessorize vacated it in early September.

Hotter shoes and the clothing shop, Joules, either side of Market Street and just down from the Guildhall, have both been seen on a London estate agent’s website to let on a new lease. Is this a shop and landlord negotiation being played out in public? Who will blink first?

The Hotter shoes premises has been advertised on a new lease for £210k rent and £90k rates.

Joules has been advertised for £215k rent and £97k rates.

Shooting Star Chase, the charity shop in Tunsgate, has closed but not for good. It is moving to 196 High Street next to Champneys beauty treatment and spa in the upper High Street.

Shooting Star Chase has closed. There hasn’t been an empty shop on that side of Tunsgate for some time. It is thought that a new café will be moving in but that has not been confirmed.

And finally, the chain kitchen shop, Schmidt Kitchens and Interiors, is in the process of fitting out its new branch in the upper High Street and a sign in the front says it will be moving in soon.

Schmidt Kitchens and Interiors opening soon in the Upper High Street.

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